


Bubble Bath

by Shoulderpads



Series: Exit the Void [4]
Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Bubble Bath, Chronic Pain, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Light Angst, No Spoilers, Post-Canon, spoilee tag after this one
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-17
Updated: 2019-02-17
Packaged: 2019-10-30 10:51:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,732
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17827193
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shoulderpads/pseuds/Shoulderpads
Summary: “A...bubble bath?” Vanitas curled his lip at the bottle Sora dangled between his thumb and first finger.“Yes, a bubble bath. They’re nice.” Sora grinned.“I know that!” Vanitas snapped.He really didn’t. He’d never had a bath, much less one with bubbles. (Were they nice because they restored magic?) He knew being clean, he wasn’t a heathen, but his showers usually consisted of Xehanort blasting the dirt off him after training with that frigid water magic of his. That was efficient. He didn’t see the point in soaking oneself in their own grime, it seemed time consuming and ineffective.





	Bubble Bath

**Author's Note:**

> I was possessed to write all this at 5 am but it’s what Vanitas deserves.

“A...bubble bath?” Vanitas curled his lip at the bottle Sora dangled between his thumb and first finger. 

“Yes, a bubble bath. They’re nice.” Sora grinned. 

“I know that!” Vanitas snapped. 

He really didn’t. He’d never had a bath, much less one with bubbles. (Were they nice because they restored magic?) He knew being clean, he wasn’t a heathen, but his showers usually consisted of Xehanort blasting the dirt off him after training with that frigid water magic of his. That was efficient. He didn’t see the point in soaking oneself in their own grime, it seemed time consuming and ineffective, and he told Sora as much. 

“Well a bubble bath isn’t really for washing so much as it is for relaxing,” the light explained. 

“So you waste time and resources for such a frivolous thing?” Vanitas crosses his arms. 

“It’s not a waste, relaxing is really important for health!” 

Vanitas rolled his eyes. “Perhaps if you have poor constitution.”

“Cmon, try it for me, please,” Sora begged, batting his bulbous blue eyes. 

“Tch. Will you quit bugging me if I do?” 

“About the bubble bath, yes.”

“Fine.” Vanitas growled. 

Sora flashed that obnoxious smile he always did when he got his way but wanted to make it seem like he’d just performed an act of charity and led Vanitas down the hall to the bathroom. He plugged the tub and began to fill it with water. He sat on the side of the tub and unscrewed the bottle, holding it out to Vanitas. 

“Here! It’s lavender scented. What do you think?”

Vanitas gave it a sniff. “Very...fragrant.”

“Do you like it?”

“I don’t hate it.”

“Great! Lavender is supposed to be a relaxing smell.”

“How can a smell be relaxing?”

“It’s called aromatherapy, it’s like research on what smells do what like how peppermint is good for concentrating,” Sora explained, pouring some of the viscous liquid into the water. 

“Sounds like bullshit to me.”

“Well, even if it isn’t real, it can’t hurt.”

_Anything can hurt_ , Vanitas wanted to say, but the frothing inside the tub distracted him. A layer of white fluff had formed on top of the water, and the lavender scent filled the room. 

“Here it’s soft.” Sora scooped up a hand full of the suds and held it up for Vanitas to take a closer look. 

The mass appeared to be made of tiny little bubbles, much smaller than the ones he’d seen fall out of slain heartless. He touched it hesitantly and jerked at the mushy texture. Some came back with his recoiled fingers and he rubbed them together, listening to the substance fizz until it became sticky goo. 

“And this is the best part,” Sora said, drawing the attention back. He held his hand level with his mouth and blew a puff of air at the soap. 

It dispersed like the dandelions Marluxia had conjured while bored and the little bits floated gently towards the title and fish shaped rug on the floor. 

“How...exciting...”

“Yeah ok, so the best part is actually giving yourself a beard, but that’s more of an in water activity.” Sora turned the faucet off. “Why don’t you test it?”

Vanitas rolled up his sleeve and pressed his arm through the bubbles that caressed his arms until his fingers hit warm water. He flinched back, sending tufts of lather flying. 

“Is it too hot?” Sora asked, alarmed. 

Vanitas shook his head. “No. Just...warm.”

“Most people like warm baths, and it’s good for muscles, but we can drain it and start over if-“

“No. It’s just...different.”

Sora peered at him like he wanted to find something, but eventually stood and brushed the soap from his shorts. “Well then I’ll let you get to it before it goes cold. If you need anything, shout, and if it gets too cool, feel free to refill it. Warm water comes out when the knob is pointing at H.”

“I know that!” Vanitas snapped. He didn’t. 

“Ok, well enjoy.” Sora let the door close with a _click_.

Vanitas peeled off the clothes Sora gave him layer by layer. Wearing normal clothes was still a novelty, but not wearing them was even more so. He did his best not stare at his scars like the first time Sora had shoved him in the bathroom with a hoodie, sweat pants, and a pair of boxers to borrow. Sora didn’t get those clothes back. 

Instead he rubbed over the raised skin of his arms as he nervously approached the side of the tub. He stared down at the peaks of white and remembered each training exercise as his fingertips trailed over their memento. 

Cautiously, he dipped the toes of one foot in and lifted it back out a few times until the skin adjusted to the heat. Soon he had both feet in the water like when everyone coaxed him into the ocean, but that water was pleasantly cool against the afternoon sun, this water was warm and seemed to seep into his skin. 

Bracing his hands against the edge of the tub, he lowered himself down, flinching back up when the water touched his tailbone, but he forced himself back in, and by the time he submerged his belly button, he couldn’t stop himself from sinking lower and lower, letting the heat bleed into his tense muscles. 

Five minutes into sitting with with a breathing hole carved into the bubbles and the water up to his neck, the strangest thing happened. 

He didn’t hurt. 

He understood pain when a Keyblade slammed into his ribs, or when his body pulled itself apart bit by bit, but he hadn’t realized until that moment how much pain he’d been feeling constantly and just ignored, pushing it to the back of his mind. 

He didn’t know what to feel about this. 

The cocktail of emotion swirled behind his ribs like oil and water. 

Anger made his wet fingers scrabble against the lip of the porcelain for the suffering Xehanort put him through. He suddenly remembered the time his master kicked him off one of his rock walls. He landed hard on his leg, and it never did feel the same, but after he stopped collapsing every time he put weight on it, he shoved that pain aside because he couldn’t get hung up on why his leg didn’t work as well in the winter when surrounded by monsters born of his own frustration and exhaustion. 

Sadness clung to his lungs and tugged them hard when he sucked in ragged breathes. Was this how everyone else felt? Had he gone his whole life missing out on a body that didn’t constantly ache? Was that really not normal? Disgusting, weak, tears pricked at his eyes, and he wanted to crack the walls of this cradle but no matter how hard his hands clenched, it wouldn’t break, so instead he brought them to his face in an effort to hold his cracks together instead and pretend it was just his palms making his face wet. 

Strangest of all, was the blossoming and fuzzy warmth that grew from the center of his chest and spread outward. He wasn’t sure what that one was, but it made him uncurl and lean his head back against the wall. He let his muscles release themselves one by one from his toes to his eyebrows. 

He scooped a handful of the foam up and shook his hand, watching the pile shake and jiggle in place. A smirk cracked his face. He turned his hand upside down and let gravity slowly pull the fluff down to where his other hand waited to catch it. He did this back and forth until growing bored and blowing the soap away. 

With a sharp grin, he leaned forward with a new idea. He sucked in a big breath, and let it out in one huff. The layer of froth now had a creator as the air filled with little suds that rained down on him. He tossed a foot up out of the water, watching the bubbles jump and settle. He tossed more up with his hands until the warm water called him to settle. 

He stared forward, counting the wall tiles and enjoying the water, but finding it hard not to fidget. Then he remember what Sora said, and as much as he hated to follow that idiot’s advice, he pulled a bunch of soap towards him. He gathered it around his chest and then pulled it up around the edge of his jaw. The soap hung there and he couldn’t help but imagine that crusty old Yen Sid with flabby, mole ridden skin wobbling into a tub and getting even more pruny.

His snort of laughter sprayed soap everywhere, and he found he couldn’t stop until he slunk so low he was making bubbles with his mouth half submerged. 

It was when he’d nearly nodded off that a knock at the door startled his eyes wide. 

“Vanitas?” Sora’s muffled voice called, “You ok in there? It’s been a long time.”

Fear wrapped around his sternum with the sudden anxiety that this would not last, that he might never feel like this again. Would he be allowed to do this ever again? Would Sora draw him another bubble bath or teach him to do it in his own? Would he have to go back to pain all over?

He didn’t want to go back. 

“You can’t make me leave.”

He’d steal the soap if he had to. He wouldn’t let this be the first and last. 

“You don’t have to leave. I just want to make sure you’re ok.”

“I’m fine. I’d be better if you left.”

“Ok, ok, but let me know if you need something.”

When Sora’s footsteps faded back down the hall, Vanitas sighed and relaxed. 

Three refills and several hours later, he emerged from the bathroom wrapped in a light blue towel and with wrinkly fingers and toes. He changed into his pajamas quickly, but Sora was in the doorway by the time he pulled the hem of the nightshirt down. 

“So? How’d it go?” Sora asked with an expectant grin. 

“It was _ok_.” Vanitas shrugged. 

“Alright. Feel free to take another one, if you find it worth your time.” Sora winked but retreated without pushing too many buttons. 

The warmth returned in full force.

**Author's Note:**

> EDIT: [Now with fan art by the lovely and talented Red!](https://red-1s-art.tumblr.com/post/182900261451/drew-some-art-for-shoulderpads-mcgee2s-vanitas)
> 
> So what do ya think? I might continue the adventures of Vanitas being adopted by the Sora household so let me know if you’d like to see more!
> 
> Come hangout with me at Shoulderpads-mcgee2 on tumblr :D
> 
> And if any of you are waiting for Beast of a Burden an update is coming I promise!


End file.
